3 Blogs

Book of Sayings

An old man's reflections and lessons learned for his children's children

I’ve been collecting famous, and not so famous, quotations since I was a teenager. Some are short pithy sayings, often axiomatic in nature, while others are more provocative and, at times, humorous. This book contains my reflections on those sayings and gives accounts of how they sometimes intersected with my life and taught me things. Ultimately, I hope my essays have some valuable lessons for young adults…including, of course, my children and their children.

As a liberal, bon vivant actress, Tallulah lived life to the fullest. She learned, grew and developed. As Einstein once wrote, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” I would add, avoiding new things for fear of failing is a recipe for a boring life.

I admire the social and political activism of companies like Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Company. They have fought big government and big business for years… often going beyond mere acts of philanthropy. Their mission, and many other emerging companies (Community Benefit Corporations, in particular), is to literally change ways of doing business and, ultimately, change the world.

Bobby d's Locavore's Digest

Thinking globally, eating and drinking locally

This collection of stories reflect my experiences as an avid locavore. Over the years, as I’ve traveled through my region, or abroad, I’ve always made a point of visiting interesting local food and beverage producers. For me, they are rock stars.

My Locavore's manifesto has 4 basic rules: 1. Wherever you are, consume locally crafted foods and beverages; 2. Learn the stories of these farmers and producers, and share with others; 3. Travel lightly and buy carbon offsets for all your travels; and, 4. Enjoy the bounty of the planet and help to preserve it.

(Note: These stories are done with the technical advice and expertise of Louise McMullen.)

This led to a propaganda movie in 1936 called “Reefer Madness” that portrayed cannabis as the most dangerous drug in the world; there was also the DuPont family, whose chemical company had just invented nylon and was allegedly afraid of competition from hemp fibre

It seemed the buildings almost clung to the cliffs, with some structures built right into the limestone. The cliffs are 35 meters high and had helped protect the village from plunder during the times of barbarian invasions. There were olive trees and many stone walls built without grout (which have been standing for centuries).

The Neophyte Farmers

A Cook's Nirvana

WineSense

Stories from the world of wines, including my recommendations

My first memory of drinking wine was at my parents dining room table when I was barely a teenager. The meal was roast beef. The wine was red Bordeaux. The memory stuck. After my college years of consuming lots of beer and cheap wine I somehow developed a palette for fine wine. At university, I took a wine course, acted as a teaching assistant for that course, and eventually taught the same course. Since then I’ve visited many wineries, talked to experts and traveled to many of the world’s best wine regions. For me, wine is a healthy drink which is more than an accompaniment to a meal…it is an integral part of a meal…and my life.